The Leafs, Flames, Ducks and Rangers got a head start on trade deadline day with some big names and bigger contracts being moved. It’s interesting to note that only the Flames are in a playoff spot, albeit it barely, at the moment.

The Ducks and Rangers are trying to get in, Brian Burke is trying to save face while Darryl Sutter’s job could be lost if his team doesn’t make the playoffs. And their moves will force others to follow suite with so many teams in the hunt.

Eight Eastern teams are battling for the final three spots and only five points separate them. In the west, seven teams are within six points and battling for the 7th and 8th spots. So it would seem there are many more buyers than sellers.

According to Darren Dreger, Don Waddell has supposedly told Ilya Kovalchuk he’ll be moved soon, but to where remains a mystery. The initial list had Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, NYR, Philadelphia, New Jersey and Calgary interested. Calgary has now been ruled out, and you wonder who the leading candidate is at this point.

Claude Julien is on the hot seat in Boston. The fans want him gone because the Bruins are the biggest disappointment in the league right now. The problem with Boston is they are battling Atlanta for the playoffs. I think they’d have to pay more than the Hawks or Kings just to get him. They have a combined nine picks in the first two rounds of the 2010 and 2011 draft so they won’t be scared to move a pick or two. But will Don Waddell trade his franchise player to a team that might beat him for a playoff spot? That’d be a double whammy for Waddell, who has to be on the hot seat in Atlanta.

Waddell was named GM of the Thrashers in June of 1998 and they started play in October of 1999. His team has made the playoffs once in nine years and with Kovalchuk on the way out it looks like it will be once in ten years.

He’s had nine picks in the first round that were 12th or better, and outside of his first pick Patrik Stefan none of have been major busts, although Boris Valabik is a question mark. Some have been studs, Kovalchuk, Dany Heatley while others might become top end players; Byran Little, Zach Bogosian and Evander Kane. But his depth scouting has been awful, and Waddell hasn’t been able to build a team since becoming their first and only GM.

The ownership group, Atlanta Spirit, LCC, is a divided group that is in a battle with estranged part owner, Steve Belkin, and you wonder if they have the capability to realize that Waddell can’t build a winner, or even a consistent competitive team.

I’ll bet on the Kings. If they can get Kovalchuk without having to part with Jack Johnson they’d do it. The Kings have two 2nd round picks and three 3rd rounders this summer, so Lombardi might be willing to part with a few extra prospects or picks because he currently has six in the first three rounds.

You have to think Waddell will want more than what he got for Marian Hossa at the 2008 deadline, and with so many teams still in the playoff hunt he might generate a bidding war.

Ice woman of the week

Random Thoughts

It has been reported before I’m sure, but many Oiler fans are wondering if the Oilers will buy out any contracts this summer. Robert Nilsson, because he is under 26, can be bought out at a 1/3 of his contract, instead of 2/3. It would cost the Oilers $833,333 to buy him out and they could spread that over two seasons, so it will only cost them $416,666 against the cap next year. Seems like a no-brainer at that price if they don’t find any takers before the two-week buy-out period this summer.

In case you missed it, Dion Phaneuf is excited to be in Toronto. Maybe they can get him a thesaurus in Toronto to think of another word to describe his emotions. On Off The Record he said he was “Excited to be going to Toronto” at least 13 times.

Ken Hitchcock got fired again, and once again it seems the players got tired of his message. Hitchcock is a great technical coach, but he is also very demanding of his player’s defensive play. Will he get another job? Will he have to tone down his defensive requirements? I’d say yes on both accounts.

The Canucks will play game three of their split 14-game road trip tonight v. the red-hot Ottawa Senators. The Canucks are 1-1 so far, and after Ottawa four of their next five games are against non-playoff teams. After the Olympic break they’ll play the remaining six games with five of them against western teams currently in the playoffs. If the Canucks want to keep pace with the Avs they’ll have to play strong heading into the Olympic break.

Could anyone other than Dave Tippett be coach of the year? He was hired mid-way through the pre-season and now his Coyotes have the 4th most points in the NHL. They are a league-best when scoring first with a .867 winning percentage, they are 26-2-2. They don’t play an exciting style, but Tippett’s team doesn’t panic and they now hold to hold a lead.

Cory Clouston will get some votes in Ottawa. The Sens have won 10 in a row and they’ve been without Alfredsson and Spezza for stretches this year. Joe Sacco has the Avs in the playoffs when everyone had them pegged for 15th and Terry Murray has the Kings right in the hunt, but for me no one has done a better job than Tippett.

I wonder if Peter Chiarelli stays patient and ends up with two picks in the top ten. There is a lot of pressure on the Bruins to make the playoffs, and injuries are a big reason why they are two points out today, but if he has faith in his team, will he roll the dice and stick with what he has? If he makes the playoffs he still gets the Leafs’ pick, and if he doesn’t he’d have two in the top 14 and possibly in the top ten? What would you do?

I wonder if Doug Wilson is looking at Raffi Torres? He saw first hand how Torres can affect a playoff game when he is playing well. The Jackets have made it clear Torres is on the block and he’ll be a hot commodity. He is a UFA this summer and his cap hit on March 1st will be $489,637 for the remainder of the season. If someone acquires him before the Olympic freeze then he’ll be between $575,000 and $620,000 depending on which day he gets dealt. Lots of teams could use a 20-goal man who hits like Torres and wouldn’t cost a ridiculous amount to re-sign in the summer.

Doug Weight doesn’t have a goal in 26 games this year, while Mattias Ohlund has no goals and only ten assists in 48 games in Tampa while playing 23:29 a game. I wonder if the Bolts regret that seven-year contract?

I’ll take the Saints this weekend. The NFC was the better division all season, but it is also a sentimental pick because of what those fans have been through. If Drew Brees can keep his team in it early, I think they’ll start a party for the city of New Orleans that would be legendary.

Quote of the week

Edmonton Oiler Sam Gagner on why he is one of the last guys off the ice after almost every practice:

“Every time you step on the ice it is an opportunity to get better. If you look at some of the drills they are just straight down and shooting. If you can take that time to really work on creating some deception on goalies by moving the puck different ways it will be a great benefit for you going forward.

“You look at a guy like MC (Mike Comrie) he’s great around the net because he works on it at practice. He’s always around the net and wanting to score in practice and he creates good habits and those are guys you can look up to. Obviously the best players in the league have great habits around the net. Look at a guy like Parise (Zach), a lot of his goals are scored from ten feet around the net and you hear about how hard he works and how good his habits are. You can learn something from all the skilled guys in the league and that’s why I stay after practice; to try to get to better and hopefully that pays dividends down the road.”

One of Canada's most versatile sports personalities. Jason hosts The Jason Gregor Show, weekdays from 2 to 6 p.m., on TSN 1260, and he writes a column every Monday in the Edmonton Journal. You can follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/JasonGregor

Nice info on Nilsson. I figure if Tambo can't get a 7th round draft pick for this guy that they'll buy him out and that cap hit because he's under 26 is sweet. Nilsson, you better get your bags packing. Sounds like you'll be back in good ole Sweden soon.

Thanks for the updates, Jason! Do you think Gags would make a good captain if we do trade Moreau and Souray? All the good young teams are giving the "C" to their young superstars and they seem to be runing with it! Do you think he has the leadership qualities in him to be a leader on the team in the short term?

Thanks for the updates, Jason! Do you think Gags would make a good captain if we do trade Moreau and Souray? All the good young teams are giving the "C" to their young superstars and they seem to be runing with it! Do you think he has the leadership qualities in him to be a leader on the team in the short term?

I don't know if Gagner is ready to be the captain, but it is certain that the culture in the room has to change. There will be changes, and when the smoke clears sometime in July or August the captaincy will depend on who remains. Gagner will be here and if they gave him an "A" that might not be a bad thing. One of their younger players needs a letter and has to become part of the leadership group moving forward.

I also think that maybe Penner may end up with a letter next year as well. He's buddy buddies with the core group of young guys, he's the scoring leader, he's taken the worst abuse of any of them from the past Coaching staff and he turned those lemons into lemonade. Oh yeah...he also has a Stanley Cup ring. That can't hurt.

Great quote by Gags. I hope that attitude pays off.
Hard work should be the intangible that puts Hall or Seguin over the top this summer. If they are neck in neck for skill then take the guy that works the hardest and hates losing the most. They need that attitude around here.

Love the quote from Gagner. I really see a future captain in him once he takes his game to the next level (which I think he will, cuz he actually puts in the time). You listening Hemsky? Gagner actually consistently gives a #%*t about the game which we've seen with him carrying the offense the last dozen games.

Haha Gregor,.. just a little self promotion (or rather, backing up your own thoughts with the words of sam-wise) with a quote.. haha.. whatev's, doesnt change the fact that you could be on to something...

I become more of a Gagner fan everytime I watch him play or hear what he is saying. Anyone see him challenge the entire Flames bench in the blow out? I didn't always think he had what it took, but, I'd give him the C. Ice gurl...GOOD!!!!

I become more of a Gagner fan everytime I watch him play or hear what he is saying. Anyone see him challenge the entire Flames bench in the blow out? I didn't always think he had what it took, but, I'd give him the C. Ice gurl...GOOD!!!!

Gagner's maturity never ceases to amaze me. You gotta give the guy credit for the way he commits to work ethic at age 20. Much older people could take a lesson from that kid.

I become more of a Gagner fan everytime I watch him play or hear what he is saying. Anyone see him challenge the entire Flames bench in the blow out? I didn't always think he had what it took, but, I'd give him the C. Ice gurl...GOOD!!!!

Ha-ha, that was hilarious. Good on Gagner, but he better be careful what he asks for... I'm sure a few Flamers had a good laugh at his expense.

Wow that quote of the week tells me that Comrie should stick around, minus the hair do.

Love the ice girl, her clothing not so much.

Nilsson seems like a no-brainer buyout at that price.

I'm pulling for the Saints as well.

I agree, if MC will sign for faily cheap, then I'd say he's a good guy to keep around. It seems like he's ready to be a role model for our younger guys. Him giving Cogs a tap to tell him to go to the net is just good communication. I think he's a good one to have to be an advocate for young guys.

They've mentioned on NHLScap that you can have a negative number one year on the buyout (not sure why that is). I do know the formula is a bit more complicated than just simply 1/3 of the contract spread out evenly though. But anyways, if the above is true, wowza... buy him out! I actually like how he's been playing lately though.

I don't know how accurate capgeek is, so it could be wrong.. but they seem to know their stuff.

Edit: Sorry, I see Mike beat me to this... didn't read all the posts first.

You buyout the actual salary, not the cap hit. So it's 1/3 of $2,500,000.

Actual buyout would be a cap savings (!) of $80,000 next year, with a cap hit of $416,000 in the year after.

You are correct that it is the $2.5 million figure they have to buy out. That will cost them $833,333.00. Then he'd become a $416.666.00 cap hit for the next two years.

Would the savings on the cap hit would be $1.583,333.00 not the $80,000 that you said? Because his cap hit would have been $2,000,000 next year, but with the buy out spread over two years his cap hit will only be $416,666.00 next year and the year after.

At that money I bet they buy him out if they don't trade him. They will need as much room as possible under the cap.

It still costs Katz money for no actual services, but that will ultimately be his decision.